New Tabs

Above you will see two new "pages" on my website: Daily Digital Assignments and Digital Learning Resources.  Here is where you can find the daily email being sent out, logon information, online books, as well as SPECIALS activities to do at home.  I will update that as needed.

Digital Learning Email 3/23

Hi there families!! I hope all are doing well. I truly have thought about each and everyone of my kiddos this past week. I know we are in a weird situation right now, but I want to assure you that I am here for you and your students. The email below is the one that was crafted by the 5th grade team that lets you know that we will begin lessons tomorrow. Please be sure to read the emails coming from Jenny Brown and/or Gold Rush, as they have a ton of information in them.

Along with planning today, I will be adding information to my blog for your reference. You will see a daily email from me with assignments that will also be posted on my blog and can most of the time be found in your student's various Google Classrooms.

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions. Also, please convey to your kids that I truly miss them and am here to answer their questions as well.

___________________________________

Greetings! 

As per our email right before the break, we wanted to reach out and let you know that learning opportunities will begin on Tuesday, March 24 instead of the originally planned Monday, March 23rd (today). At this time, we are working on plans for learning opportunities and what it will look like for your child. Please look for an email from your child’s teacher beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, March 24 by 9:00 am. 

Thank you,

The 5th Grade Team

Kelly Broecker

Heather Burgraff

Ashley Hagerty

Lauren Rayens

Spring Break

Greetings!

We just wanted to communicate to you before Spring Break what expectations will look like
going forward.  Beginning Monday, March 23, I will begin sending a daily email, as well as posting
on my blog, the assignments to do each day.  Students will be able to access all assignments
through their Google Classroom(s) which they are familiar with and have used often in our
classrooms.

Thank you and have a great Spring Break!

Ashley Hagerty

Kelley Broecker

Lauren Rayens

Heather Burggraff

Upcoming

Valentine's Day

We will celebrate with our party this Thursday (as there is no school for students on Friday).  Our party will be after lunch from 1:45-2:45.  Students are encouraged to bring in Valentines to their classmates.  I have sent a list home with them today.  We will also be having an optional box decorating contest.  Students are not at all required to bring in a fancy box, but those who choose to, can enter our contest.  If your kiddo doesn't want to decorate a box, please at least have them bring in something to hold their Valentines

Wish Week

Here is a message from student council:

Spirit Week will begin Tuesday February 18th.  Students are encouraged to bring change or a few dollars each day.  The class to collect the most money during Wish Week will earn a pizza party, so have fun and get competitive!  

Tuesday: Crazy Sock Day

Wednesday: Hat Day

Thursday: Skittles Day 

K - Red

1st - Orange

2nd - Yellow

3rd - Green

4th - Blue

5th - Purple

Friday: Wish Week Shirts

Field Trip

We are all set to head to the Museum of Nature and Science on March 6th.  Students will connect with their science learning of the body systems and participate in the Lung Lab where they will get to dissect a lamb's lung.  This is a great experience that kids seem to love year after year.  Please sign up here on MySchool Bucks.  Also, I am looking for 5 parent chaperones to accompany us!!  Please let me know if you are interested by this Thursday.  If I get more volunteers than the 5 we need, I will randomly pull names out of a hat.

Conferences

Spring Conferences are coming up on March 4th and 12th.  The school sign up will come out later this week, but I have included a sign up here for additional times if they may work better for you.  

Sign Up Link

P​TO Reminders

PTO is still collecting Box Tops!  If you have some please send them in.

February 11th is Papa John's fundraising night.

Please make sure to sign up your King Sooper's card with Gold Rush Elementary school.  A flier went home last week with a link.

January Update

Here's what's happening in our classroom:

Reading
We are in the process of completing our Argument and Advocacy Unit where students took some time to research a "hot topic."  These span from "Should we allow people to climb Mt. Everest?" to "Banning the use of plastic bags."  Ask your kiddo what they have been researching and where they stand on the issue.  They should be able to give you their claim followed with some strong research-based reasons.  With this unit we have focused quite a bit on critical thinking and reasoning.  They are doing great!

Writing
Our writing unit goes hand in hand with our reading unit, but the topic is a bit more controlled.  Students are taking sides on the question of "Should chocolate milk be available in school lunch rooms?"  Currently it's a pretty split class which is great to see.  Students have read articles on both sides to support their claim.  We have also spent a lot of time talking about adding thinking and "unpacking" the evidence to fully get your point across.  Other focuses have been: transitions, adding craft, looking at perspective, and using sources.

Math
We have dived head first into fractions and they are doing great!!  The past few weeks have focused on adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators as well as adding and subtracting mixed numbers.  There are so many things to keep in mind when dealing with fractions that often times kids get confused as to "what to do."  I'm a strong believer in teaching great mathematical thinking and understanding the why and number sense behind the math.  I think this is really helping these kiddos grasp the concepts.

Science
Our class is in our last unit that focuses on causes and consequences of weather.  This includes uneven heating of the earth, pressure, weather maps, and evaporation of water.  Along with this we have done a great technology unit where we looked at historical weather trends in different parts of the country and analyzed how this affects the area and climate.

Transition to MS

I know many of you have already attended some of the Coffee Talks at Cimarron Middle School recently.  If you haven't yet, there will be another one on February 26th.  This is a great opportunity for you to get to know the middle school and ask all the questions you may have. 

This week I sent home the electives form, which I thoroughly went over with the class.  I feel like they have a solid understanding of their choices, but if you need any other clarification I will happily answer any questions. 

Later in the year (May 11th) we will bring all the 5th graders up to Cimarron for a welcome and tour to help them feel more comfortable.

Being a parent sending a kid off to middle school myself, I am feeling many of the same feelings you are feeling.  Please know that I am always an email/phone call away.

December Happenings

Reading
We are finishing up our unit on Nonfiction Text Complexity by becoming experts on a topic of their choice.  Not only will kids gain deep knowledge on a subject, but we will be focusing on how texts on the same topics vary.  They may have different text structures, author biases, perspectives, and present information in very different ways.  Because of this, I am asking kids to gather resources.  We have books from our classroom that they are currently using, we have visited the Gold Rush Library, and I have printed a few articles for them.  Please also help them gather text by printing articles at home and visiting the public library.

Writing
We are finishing up our Literary Essay Unit.  Kids are in the process of finishing their second piece and will do one last one on a text of their choice.  We have focused, not only on essay structure and tone, but have also really gotten into finding just the right evidence to support our thesis statements and then "unpacking" that evidence to show how it supports our thinking.

Math
Division is our next topic.  We begin with whole number division then move into decimal division.  Through this work we will be making estimates to check the reasonableness of our answers, dividing by one-digit divisors, and by two-digit divisors.  I will teach both Partial Quotients and the Traditional Method of division and either option is fine with me.  Typically students find it easier to use traditional with one-digit divisors and partial quotients with two-digit.  The most important aspect at the end is that they have a solid understanding of division, are accurate, and are efficient.

Holiday Items
As a "gift" to the class, I will have an in-class Read-a-thon on Thursday the 18th.  On this day kids can bring in a small blanket or beach towel to get cozy with, I will provide hot chocolate, and we will spend the day enjoying books!  We will read fiction, nonfiction, science material, magazines, etc.

Upcoming Dates
Friday, Dec. 6th - Spelling Bee Pre-Qualification at 8:30 in the Gold Mine Room
Thursday, Dec. 12th - One-on-one Reading Assessments (there will be a sub this day as I test)
Wednesday, Dec, 18th - Read-a-thon and hot chocolate party
Thursday, Dec. 19th - Class Holiday Party
Friday, Dec. 20th - Winter Break Begins